Start a Landscaping Business

A landscape business can be lucrative, since there are plenty of homeowners who don't have the time, energy or skills to take care of their yards and design garden features. Beyond the basic gardening services like mowing, weeding, and fertilizing, you can work as a landscaping designer or do advanced installations and planting. If you have a green thumb and can do heavy labor, finding out how to start a landscaping business is the first step toward working at a job you love.

Steps

Setting Up Your Business

1. Establish your business. You will need a good business plan to manage your finances and set yourself up legally. Your biggest concern initially will be getting financing to start the business, and setting up how you will pay taxes. For both of these, consulting an accountant is a good idea.
   • You may want to incorporate your business as an LLC. A limited liability company will help limit your personal liability should someone want to sue your company. This can be especially useful if you intend to be a small outfit.
   • You will also need to Finance a Business. This cash will be necessary to purchasing early equipment and survive as a business while you get new customers. Take your cost estimates and try to get a loan from a bank or other investor.
2. Figure out your pricing. In order to hire you, most customers will want to get an estimate for how much the job will cost. You will need to be able to figure out your skill and speed, and provide an accurate estimation for your work. Your costs will include materials, labor, equipment, and overhead.
3. Get proper licensing. Every state is different, but there are a variety of business and professional licenses you may need to obtain. Some of the more common regulations that touch on landscaping work include:
   • Fertilizers and pesticides. Because many contain toxic chemicals, and can contaminate water resources, local jurisdictions regulate the use of fertilizers and pesticides. If you plan on applying any of these, you may need an additional license.
   • Irrigation. Particularly in the American Southwest, where water is scarce, you may need to develop techniques that bring water to your client's land. States (understandably) regulate this kind of water transfer, so you will need to be familiar with local laws.
   • Waste removal. Landscape work can produce a tremendous amount of waste in the form of extra dirt, grass clippings, branches, and other forms of refuse. You will need to know how the local jurisdiction expects businesses to deal with their waste.
   • Contractor license. Landscapers work as contractors, and so require licensing in many states. Check yours to see what kind of licensing you will need for contracting work
4. Get licensed. Landscapers are licensed by the American Society of Landscape Architects, and many states require this licensing to practice the business.
   • To get licensed, you will need to pass the Landscape Architect Registration Exam (L.A.R.E.), which will test your knowledge and skills for maintaining health, safety, and welfare standards. The ASLA provides additional detailed information on the exam, as well as ways to prepare for it.
   • The test is administered by the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB), and you can schedule your exam through them. The application fee is $150.
   • You will need to maintain this license with continued education, which the ASLA's Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System (LA CES) can provide. The renewal fee is $150 or $195, depending on your current status.
5. Get tax information. Your business will need to pay taxes, so you will need a tax identification number for federal and state offices.
   • Get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. You can apply through the IRS website, or you can fax or mail a completed SS-4 form. Filing online will get you an EIN immediately, while the mailed or faxed form should return a number in about four business days. Filing for an EIN is free.
   • When you incorporate as a business, and register in your state, you should receive a state-level tax identification number. Each state has different obligations and requirements, so make sure you know your state's relevant laws.
6. Find your first customers. There are a variety of people interested in hiring outside people to work on their yards. Their needs vary by location, age, and professional lives. You may not be able to get all these details, but understanding your potential market can help you determine what services you will want to offer.
   • Landscaping seeks to modify the current physical landscape of a piece of property. Homeowners who lack the skill or tools to design their own, new homeowners who want to update their property, those looking to sell their homes, and property owners who do not employ landscapers may be interested in someone to do advanced work on their property.
   • Lawn maintenance is the simple care of pre-existing grass and other plants. Some towns and neighborhoods have regulations regarding basic standards for lawn care. Potential customers include homeowners who are frequently out of town for professional or seasonal reasons, retirees who can't (or don't want to) care for their lawns, or property owners with green spaces they don't have the personnel to keep up. While landscaping may be your passion, doing general lawn work as well can be a good way to establish a customer base and cash flow in your business' early stages.
   • Much of your work will be seasonal, particularly in the spring and summer. If you want your business to earn money throughout the year, be prepared to do off-season work. This can include raking and collecting leaves during the fall, or shoveling snow in the winter.
7. Hire workers. Depending on the type of work you intend to do, you may find it necessary to hire additional help.
   • Landscape work attracts all kinds of people, so you will need to be multifaceted in your recruitment approach. Even something as simple as "Help Wanted" fliers and signs on your equipment and posted at local lawn care stores can bring in potential employees. Be sure to include contact information (especially a phone number) so interested workers can get in touch with you.
   • When you hire workers, you will need to properly account for their employment and tax status. Make sure they are eligible to work in the United States, and that you have their social security number.Make sure your workers fill out both the I-9 Form (for employment eligibility) and W-4 Form (for taxation). Keep all your employees' tax forms filed for easy reference.
   • Even if your work is seasonal in nature, you will still need to account for your employee's tax withholding.

Landscaping Successfully

1. Find a niche. You will need to differentiate yourself from other landscapers out there. Find some particular aspects of landscaping or garden work you do well, and market yourself as a specialist. This should not be the only thing you do, but it can help target customers by making you stand out.
2. Purchase equipment. Chances are you do not own all of the equipment you will need to be an effective landscaper. You should make sure the equipment is quality, but you do not need to purchase all new equipment. Yard sales and auctions may have quality pieces at better prices than buying brand new. You also don't need to purchase every possible piece of equipment out there. Your individual needs will vary based on the variety of services you intend to offer, but there are some important basics.
   • Lawn mower. Cutting grass will be an important part of your work, so you will want a quality lawn mower. A riding mower can be more efficient, especially if you are planning to cut a number of large yards, though will definitely be more expensive. If you are cutting grass on a steep hill, or with a more intricate garden, you may want to have a push mower as well, which is safer for you and the area you are working in.
   • Edger. A gas-powered edger will help trim the edges of a lawn, particularly around walkways and driveways.
   • Gardening tools. If you plan to do any gardening work, a shovel, rake, and weed puller will be necessary.
   • Safety gear. Since you will be working with machinery, gloves and safety goggles are important for the personal safety of you and your employees. With some machinery, you may also consider hearing protection.
   • Transportation. You will need something to carry your equipment and crew. The type of transportation you require will depend on the rest of your equipment, but you will need at least something like a truck, large van, or trailer.
   • Make sure you have insurance for your equipment, to guard against issues like theft or mechanical breakdown.
   • Other items you'll use on a daily basis include; a watering can, extension leads (if you have electric power tools), foam knee pads for planting in comfort, twine for tying up plants and a push broom.
3. Mow and maintain lawns. No matter how built up a property is, there is will probably be some grass that needs cutting. Use your lawn mower to keep the lawn trim and neat, and an edger to keep grass away from sidewalks and other installations.
4. Design natural landscapes for your customers. The essence of landscaping, what makes it different from lawn care, is the transformation of a piece of property using additional natural materials like trees, flowers, rocks, and sod. More advanced designs may include artificial items like lights.
   • This is a collaborative process, as your customer must approve of the design you come up with. Things to keep in mind include making sure your customer knows what they want the space for and properly accounting for weather and sunlight patterns.
   • Part of this process involves making a good estimate of the time it will take to make these changes and how much they will cost. Be honest with yourself and your customer about what it will take so that you both can get a fair estimate of costs. Neither of you will want any surprises when the time comes to pay.
5. Install new materials. Your job as a landscaper involves taking your design and installing it on to your client's property. Create a plan for installing different materials, and follow through for as long as it takes. Make sure you have the proper equipment for whatever work you plan on doing.
6. Maintain your creations. This means scheduling a regular return to your client's location to perform basic tasks like weeding and applying pesticides. If you live in an area with pronounced seasons, you'll need a plan for keeping the landscape maintained in different weather conditions.
7. Prepare to deal with weather. Since you will be outdoors regularly, weather is a constant concern. When designing your work schedule, leave some space in the work week for delays from the weather. While it rains, you can take the opportunity to keep up with your business' paperwork.

Growing Your Business

1. Advertise. In the early stages of your business, you will need to rely on small scale activities like fliers, or going door to door. Advertising using social media can also be a good, cheap way to get some early advertising through friends and other acquaintances.
   • Utilize social media to find new customers. You can establish Facebook page showcasing your work, and use business networking sites like LinkedIn and Google Plus. Look for sites where people search for services, like Angie's List and Yelp, and encourage your customers to post reviews there.
2. Join business organizations. These can be local groups like Join the Chamber of Commerce, or larger trade organizations. Local business groups can keep you connected to local businesses that may need your landscaping expertise, or can provide additional services to your company. Regional and national trade organizations allow you to keep up to date with changes in the business, and can provide additional opportunities for education.
3. Add a new niche. Look for other kinds of design or installation you can do to expand your customer base. Continuing education courses that you take through maintaining your contractor license can be a good opportunity to learn new skills that your customers will want to tak advantage of.
   • One good niche to move into is "interior-scaping". There are opportunities available for businesses that can manage the greenery of indoor spaces, such as malls or office buildings. You will want to know the type of plants best suited to the environment, and will be visually appealing with the building's design. There can be quite a bit of overlap in this kind of work with that of a more general interior decorator.
4. Get a degree in landscape architecture. To get bigger, you may consider branching out into more advanced projects through landscape architecture. If you don't have a bachelor's degree, you can get one in Landscape Architecture (BLA or BSLA). There are further programs for a Masters in Landscape Architecture (MLA), which will differ depending on your undergraduate degree.
   • The American Society of Landscape Architecture has a listing of accredited schools, both in person and online, where you can earn these degrees.
   • There is an additional MA/MS in Landscape Architecture, but that degree is better suited for someone who wants to do research in the field, not be a professional.
5. Develop processes to maintain quality. The toughest part about growing as a landscaping business is that you will not be able to do all of the design and landscaping work. Instead, you will need to rely on your employees to keep up the quality that attracted customers in the first place. Make sure your business has design and work processes in place for everyone to follow, and perhaps a designated management team to help carry them out.
   • Find ways to keep the best employees. Landscaping and lawn care are high turnover businesses. You need to find ways to keep your best employees, as they provide additional skills that allow you to attract more customers, and may not be easily replaceable. Finding ways for them to stay with the company, while still having room to grow, will help maintain standards and quality.

Tips

• This is a very personal business, so you will need to be comfortable talking directly to your customers about their lawn care and landscaping needs.
• Because you will be working outdoors, weather can play a big role in your day to day activities. Be prepared for unexpected changes in the weather, and how those can affect your schedule.

Related Articles

• Start a Business Website

Sources and Citations

See also

• Start a Handyman Business
• Start a Bakery Business in the Philippines
• Run a Landscaping Business
• Open a Child Care Business
• Open a Day Care Center
• Start a Snow Plowing Business
• Make Money by Mowing Lawns
• Start a Lawn Business
• Start a Cleaning Business
• Start a Dry Cleaning Business

Read more ...

What links here

• Make Money
• Develop a Strategic Social Media Program for Business